Customs FOU ‘A’ Smashes Transborder Smuggling Ring, Seizes 220 Contrabands Worth N3.24b

PHOTO: Controller Aliyu showcasing some of the seized items

By Temitope Adebiyi, Correspondent

The Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ Ikeja of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismantled a major transborder smuggling ring, and intercepted prohibited goods with Duty Paid Value of N3,237,132,640.00 and recovered N728,976,725.03 revenue.

The syndicate, investigation revealed, specialised in smuggling prohibited items across the zone’s border areas.

Seized items

Addressing reporters at the Federal Government warehouse in Lagos, today, the Area Comptroller of the Unit, Gambo Aliyu, stated that the seizures demonstrate the unit’s resolve to defend Nigeria’s economic frontiers and combat unscrupulous importers and their agents.

Aliyu noted that the operation relied on sharpened risk profiling, rigorous compliance checks, and targeted strikes.

He added that this approach highlights the Unit’s unrelenting commitment to protecting local industries, securing government revenue, and keeping Nigeria’s trade corridors free of contraband.

According to Aliyu, intelligence-led operations during the period led to the interception of numerous prohibited and smuggled items, including:

Rice & Food: 4,956 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (equal to 8 trailer loads), 686 cartons of foreign poultry products, and 26 cartons of foreign vegetable oil (4 x 5-litre units each).

Vehicles & Travel: 12 foreign-used vehicles and 2,947 pieces of used tyres.

Illicit Drugs: 240,000 tablets of Tramadol, 12,000 tablets of Hypnox, 2,683 parcels of synthetic cannabis (1,439.9kg), 49 parcels of Ghanaian Loud (26.1kg), 13 parcels of granular cannabis (1.35kg), and 1 parcel of crystal methamphetamine (0.35kg).

Contraband & Wildlife: 22 pieces of elephant tusks (130.84kg), 964 25-litre jerrycans of PMS (24,100 litres), and 414 bales of used clothing

The Comptroller called the revenue recovery encouraging and vowed to stop fraud like under-declaration and false filing.

Aliyu urged traders and agents to follow customs laws, noting that the Unit supports honest trade while cracking down on smugglers and tax evaders to boost the nation’s economic profile.

The Unit, the Area Controller said, protects the economy by stopping smuggled goods like rice, vehicles, and used clothing. This saves local jobs, keeps food safe, and protects government money. It also stops illegal drugs to keep people healthy, and seizes elephant tusks to protect rare wildlife

In the same vein, the Comptroller emphasised that the Unit’s enforcement activities are being undertaken within a balanced framework that combines robust border enforcement with trade facilitation. He attributed the successes recorded during the period to enhanced intelligence gathering, risk profiling, inter-agency collaboration, intelligence fusion, and the cooperation of stakeholders and members of the public.

He assured compliant traders of the Service’s continued commitment to creating a fair, predictable, and transparent trading environment, while warning that the Unit would sustain its zero-tolerance approach to smuggling, revenue fraud, and other forms of economic sabotage.

To this end, the NCS, through FOU ‘A’, reiterates its commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s economic objectives by protecting domestic production, promoting compliance, facilitating legitimate trade, and preventing the entry and circulation of prohibited and harmful goods.

The Unit appreciates the continued support of sister agencies, stakeholders, border communities, and members of the public whose intelligence and cooperation contribute significantly to its enforcement efforts.

Comptroller Aliyu called for sustained partnership from the business community and the general public, noting that collective compliance and vigilance remain essential to consolidating the gains recorded in revenue recovery, border protection, public safety, and national economic development.